


Discovery

by TheGuestGirl



Category: Free!
Genre: ALL THE ANGST, Angst, Angsty Nagisa is adorable, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, I hope..., I'm Sorry, M/M, My First AO3 Post, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, So many tags, The other boys angsting over him is even more adorable, but not really, i'm a bad person, is this how tags work?, rated for language and referenced rape, the Nagisa/Rin is Platonic, the rape is only refferenced
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 08:42:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2461958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGuestGirl/pseuds/TheGuestGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin makes a discovery while on his run with Sousuke. A rather terrible discovery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Discovery

Everything hurt.

His arms, his thighs, his chest and stomach, all aching with the promise of bruises beginning to form. His head was pounding, and his wrists and ankles were chafed from struggling. His… unmentionables… hurt the worst, by far. Not exactly surprising, but _ow_ …

And he was _cold_. His t-shirt was torn to shreds, as were his track pants and jacket. His skin was pressed against freezing cement where he lay curled into a ball on his side. His boxers were supposedly intact (they weren’t ripped when he lost them…) but _hell_ if he was going to open his eyes to look for them. Not yet at least. He could do that later.

 _But what if someone finds me?_ He thought, shivering again, a stark reminder of the fact that he was _outside, in public_. He didn't want to be found like this. It was demeaning enough without being completely naked... He held onto that thought, lifting his head from his knees and opening his eyes, bloodshot from crying. There they were, only a meter or so away. He began to uncurl himself further before freezing, a hand over his mouth to keep himself from crying out.

 _Shit. That hurt._ He thought. He felt tears return to his eyes. _But I have to keep going_. He braced himself for the coming pain, determined not to cry out, before forcing his muscles to move and quickly straightening himself out of the fetal position...

And nearly curling back into it. He froze again, gasping for air.

“Ow. Ow, owowowowowowowshitowowowowOW.” He sobbed out under his breath. He felt the tears begin to stream down his face once again. He lay there for a while, gasping for air and trying to calm himself. Slowly, he got his breathing back to an almost normal rate. Maybe he could just stay like this for a while… after all, his boxers could wait, couldn't they?

 _Come on, it can’t be much worse than_ that _._ He thought, trying to give himself a pep talk. He opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) and rolled onto his stomach. It didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would. Encouraged by this, he moved to push himself to his hands and knees.

 _One... two... three…_ he counted to himself before quickly pushing himself up… He proceeded to fall back to the ground, letting out a sharp cry. A sick squelching noise came from his lower regions as he moved. It made him nauseous. He pushed himself to his knees, managing to crawl a little way before vomiting. The heaving of his stomach hurt as it strained already abused muscles, but he couldn’t stop. Not until he emptied himself and nothing but dry heaves ran through his body as he sat back, bringing his knees back to his chest.

He slammed his hand over his mouth, shaking as sobs racked his frame. _You're so pathetic. You can't crawl a few steps without throwing up_. 

He looked up to see that his boxers where now within arm’s reach. He grabbed them and pulled them on, attempting to stifle the cries of pain that escaped his lips but failing miserably.

He finally finished the daunting task of covering himself (at least somewhat) with the boxers, and promptly fell to his side, curling back into a fetal position. He gasped as pain continued to rush through him in waves, even though he had gone still. He didn’t bother to try to cry quietly anymore, and his sobs echoed down the alley.

Suddenly there were voices.

“Come on, I thought I heard someone yelling back here.” A boy spoke. He slammed his palm over his mouth, trying in vain to quiet himself. The voice sounded familiar, so familiar, but he couldn't place it and he wasn't sure he wanted to. He curled tighter into a ball, trying to melt into the concrete.

“It was just your imagination. Let’s just keep going with our jog.” Another boy, his voice deeper, replied. He thought they sounded closer than before. He wished they would go away, just go away and leave him alone. He didn't want to be found, didn't need any more humiliation.

“It won’t hurt just to look.” The first voice spoke again. It was definitely closer. Just around the corner, even.

He began to shake harder as panic rose in his chest.

After all, anyone could stumble upon him. _Anyone_ …

\-------------

Rin closed his eyes as he walked outside the dorm, breathing in the calm autumn evening air. He'd had a rather rough day in school (tests in _five fucking classes_?!) but running always seemed to clear his head, and he liked it. Not nearly as much as he loved swimming, no, but he liked it all the same.

Besides, ever since Sousuke began to accompany him, it had become even better. They had taken to stopping at a local convenience on the way back to the dorms, and it was fun to catch their breath as they waited in line, chatting.

“You coming or not?” Sousuke asked, a few meters away. Rin scowled good-naturedly at him.

“Yeah, yeah. I swear, you’re the most impatient person in Japan.” He joked as they began to jog.

They were on their second lap around the block when it happened. Rin paused in his run, panting softly. His brow furrowed as he peered down an alley way that they had been passing.

“Oi, why’d you stop? Tired already?” Sousuke asked, walking back when he realized that Rin had stopped.

“No, I thought I heard something.” He replied, glancing back at his taller friend.

“Huh?”

“Down that alley.” He clarified, gesturing with his head. “It almost sounded like—”

He stopped. There it was again.  He was almost certain this time. The sound of someone crying out. 

“Rin, what is it?” Sousuke asked, grabbing his wrist as the redhead began walking briskly down the alley way.

“Come on, I thought I heard someone yelling back here.” He said, tugging away and continuing down the alley. Sousuke shook his head. He hadn't heard anything, and he had been jogging closer to the alley than Rin had.

“It was just your imagination. Let’s just keep going with our jog.” He said, following his friend as he was about to round a corner in the alley. Rin paused and glanced back. Maybe Sousuke was right. Maybe he was hearing things... Things like the distinct sound of someone sniffling.

“It won’t hurt just to look.” He said crisply and continued around the corner only to be stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth fell open, and his eyes felt like they were about to pop out of his head as he took in the scene in front of him.

Shreds of a distinctive white and light blue track suit littered the floor of the alley, mixed with equally telling yellow T-shirt scraps. A disgusting white... goop was mixed in with it all. Rin felt his stomach churn as he was assaulted with the putrid smell of sweat, vomit, and iron mixing together. 

What hit him hardest was the person in the middle of it all. They were curled into a fetal position, their small form racked with sobs. Nasty red marks littered pale skin, some already turning blue and purple. A shock of curly blond hair fell across the face they had buried in their knees.

“Rin? What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Sousuke asked. The redhead had frozen as soon as he turned the corner. He wore a look of horror Sousuke had never seen before on his face, and the taller boy wanted to know what had caused it. It was like his question flipped a switch. Rin blinked,  and suddenly lurched forward with a strangled cry.

“Nagisa!”

\-----------------

“Rin? What’s wrong? Are you alright?” the second voice spoke again.

Nagisa felt himself freeze. _R-Rin?_

“Nagisa!” he heard the older boy call his name, footfalls heavy against pavement. Suddenly he was there, kneeling beside him. “Shit, Nagisa.” 

“Rin? What the he- Oh my God...” the deep voice tapered off.

He felt more than heard Rin kneeling next to him. He felt the older boy hesitantly lay his hands on him. One landed gently on a shoulder, and one on a knee. The touch was light as a bird, as if the other was afraid of breaking him. It was tender and gentle and in the back of his mind he knew that it was a friend...

_Rough hands grabbed his wrists, forcing them behind his back as he was slammed against a wall. He struggled, trying to cry out as he was bound tightly with a rough, scratchy rope. He fell silent as another hand smacked his forehead against the bricks in front of him. Another set began to tear away his pants with a knife, leaving small cuts on pale skin._

 “NO! No more!” He cried, scrambling blindly away from the touch. He backed himself away into the wall of the alley, curling tighter into a ball then before. “No…”

“Nagisa… please.” the other boy said, and his voice conveyed a silent message.  _Let me help you._

He shook his head, refusing to open his eyes. _No. Don’t touch me. Not yet._

“I’m not going to hurt you.” _Trust me. Please._

Nagisa took a deep breath, and flinched as a hand once again brushed against his shoulder, but he didn’t jump. The hand came back, encouraged, and came to rest lightly on bare, bruised skin. Nagisa finally peeked out from under disheveled bangs, bloodshot pink eyes meeting worried red.

Rin caught his breath. The boy looked _broken_. So broken. It hurt Rin to see the bubbly blonde like this. They had never been best friends, just friends. They occasionally went to each others houses, and they hung out together at practice with the other boys in Rin's age group.

Nagisa had, at first, been simply "that Kid" that followed around him, Haru, and Makoto. He was the bubbly Kohai that no one had the heart to push away in the beginning, when he first began to follow them around. They let him practice with them, and let him run home with them "if he could keep up". And somehow, over time, He managed to breaststroke his happy way straight into their hearts. They would've be damned before they let anyone hurt him. 

And here he was. Hurt and broken, and Rin hoped to god not beyond repair. They had failed.

“Rin…” He mumbled softly, his voice bringing the shark back from the past and his regrets. A fresh bout of tears was welling up in his eyes. Suddenly, he was flinging himself into the redhead. Small arms clung to his neck like a lifeline, and he began sobbing into his shoulder. Rin got over his shock and pulled the blonde closer. After another moment, he hesitantly began rubbing the younger's back. He gently swayed back and forth like his mother used to do for him and Gou when they were upset.   

“It’s okay. It's alright, Nagi. Everything’s gonna be okay…” _I’ll never let anyone hurt you again._

\------------

**Author's Note:**

> God, that first line is soooo cheesy. Seriously, how many stories have you read that started with the line “everything hurt”? I personally lost track around thirty…  
> *sigh* I’m a terrible person... but at the same time, rape recovery is just so interesting to write... You can experiment with so many different emotions!  
> And I realize that Sousuke just kinda disappears halfway through the chapter. I couldn't think of a way to work him back in (mostly because it's midnight, and i still have Homework to finish). I like to think that he teleported into a nice cozy little College AU SouMako fluff/smut fic, and is gonna join us back here in this story next chapter.  
> And there is gonna be another chapter. It just depends on the next time I get a 5 hour writing assignment. Because that is the only time my muse /ever/ decides to come strolling in.
> 
> UPDATE:  
> Okay, so I went through and re-betaed the first chapter. I'm currently working on the second chapter, and since midterms are coming up next week (JOY), knowing me, I'll probably be up late "studying" (read: watching youtube, reading fanfiction HOPEFULLY writing fanfiction) each night. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter finished, but no promises. In fact, not even a hint of a promise.
> 
> UPDATE 2:  
> Sooooo...  
> I've decided to just keep this as a Oneshot. I'm really, really, really sorry to any of you who were expecting more chapters, but I've crashed straight into a GIANT writer's block for this story, and It works pretty well as a oneshot anyway. Thank you SO MUCH to anyone who commented, Kudo-ed, etc.


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